In this historical novel based on my father’s life, a shoeless farm kid Remus graduates from high school in 1929. He soon realizes that the economy limits his choices, so he joins the United States Marines, is shipped to China where the wider world opens itself to him. In Shanghai he is a guard for the consulate; in Peking, he is a corporal in messaging and coding; in Manila, he makes sergeant and trains other marines both American and Filipino. He stays in touch with his high school sweetheart, the love of his life. Thinking he may have lost his love, Remus flies home to save the relationship, but arrives to find his love is with another man. Despondent, he considers atrocities, but steadies himself and serves a young aviation company, supervises for the Tennessee Valley Authority, and leads coal miners to a better life. Then his love is free again, and he renews the relationship. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he joins the USAAF, marries his love and trains more soldiers. As he has children, he volunteers to be a radio operator on the new B-29s, but he is in for more than he could guess. He shows the value of non-commissioned officers to America’s military.